Foster children get support to succeed

A chance at success

Supplied photo

The province's decision to boost funding for youth in care between the ages of 18 and 21 will allow many of them to pursue post-secondary education and succeed in life, say officials at Peel Children's Aid Society .

Youth in the care of the Peel Children’s Aid Society (Peel CAS) welcomed a recent Queen’s Park decision to offer them financial support when pursuing post-secondary education.
The Ontario government’s decision to invest $24 million for education and financial support for youth in the Children’s Aid system, will allow many current and former children in the foster care system to complete high school and attend post-secondary education, without taking on huge debts, Peel CAS officials said.
Currently, just 43 per cent of Crown wards in Peel graduate high school, compared to 74 per cent of their peers.
Henry, 17, a Brampton youth who lives with his grandmother, said he has been working part-time and saving money for tuition, but without the province’s help, it would have been difficult for him to cough up the money for tuition, books and rent.
For few years now, Henry and few others from Peel CAS, have been calling on the province to tweak the existing rules so that they would not be left out in the cold as soon as they turned 18.
“It feels great to know we’ve been listened to,” said Henry, who wants to pursue a criminal justice program in the fall. “It’s a topic that needed to be addressed because a lot of children in care don’t graduate high school. Knowing I will have the financial support for post-secondary education feels good because not only will I be able to pay the tuition, the money will help pay for other expenses as well.”
For those between 18 and 21 years of age, the province has increased the minimum monthly financial support to $850 up from $663. Also, starting this fall, eligible youngsters will receive $500 per month as living expenses if they are enrolled in a post-secondary education or training program. The government has also agreed to cover 50 per cent of the tuition costs for youngsters like Henry who want to pursue education.
Children’s Aid officials believe the proposed changes will go a long way towards removing one of the major the roadblocks in the foster care system.
“This is a big step for those youth that get to post-secondary education,” said Bryan Shone, senior service manager at Peel CAS. “Many of our current and former Crown wards face so many unique and difficult challenges that removing some of the financial barriers when they opt for post-secondary education will make a huge difference in their lives.”
Shone also applauded the province’s decision to partner with 11 colleges and universities to provide full tuition (up to $6,000 annually) to former and current Crown wards.
“Advocacy for us has been in creating partnerships with the two school boards to help our youth,” he said. “Our goal is to graduate more youth from high school so that more of our youths can go on to colleges, universities or trade schools...something that creates success for them right into their adulthood.”